Posts for Ticker ‘ZUMZ’

Thursday Earnings Retail Bonanza (DKS, FL, GPS, ROST, SHLD, BKE, PLCE, WTSLA, WSM, ZUMZ)

The earnings season is mostly winding down, but we still have a slew of retail earnings in the apparel and home categories.  On Thursday alone, we have earnings from Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), The Buckle (NYSE: BKE), The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ: WTSLA), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), and Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ).

We have compiled data and analysis here using Thomson Reuters consensus estimates, recent metrics offered by the companies, relative performance, and more.  As with what we have seen at most retail and apparel earnings this week and last, many of these are richly valued and probably cannot just hope to please the bulls by meeting estimates on cost cutting and inventory management and then giving cautious guidance.
Read More »

Posted on: November 18, 2009 – 3:38 pm in Apparel, Calendar, Earnings, Retail, , , , , , , , , ,

Retail & Apparel Earnings Dominate Next Week (SKS, BJ, GYMB, ANN, DKS, FL, GPS, SHLD, PLCE, WTSLA, ZUMZ)

Bull and Bear ImageIt seems that earnings season is winding down, but next week we have many of the key retail and apparel players reporting earnings.  Saks Incorporated (NASDAQ: SKS), BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ), Gymboree Corp. (NASDAQ: GYMB), and Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) are all reporting next week.  Next Thursday may feel like a retail and apparel earnings bonanza as we have Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ: WTSLA), and Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) all reporting earnings in one day.

We have provided estimates from Thomson Reuters, recent sale store sales data, share performance, and added color on what else to consider where applicable.
Read More »

Posted on: November 13, 2009 – 11:36 am in Apparel, Calendar, Earnings, Retail, , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (COH, ITG, K, LYG, WFR, STI, TWX, TOL, VMW, ZUMZ)

These are this Friday mornings top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations of coverage from Wall Street firms:

Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Investment Technology Group (NYSE: ITG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LYG) ADR upgraded at both BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse.
MEMC Electronics (NYSE: WFR) Raised to Buy at Soleil.
SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
VVMware (NYSE: VMW) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Zumiez (NYSE: ZUMZ) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: October 30, 2009 – 8:09 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ANF, FRED, FDO, FINL, SEPR, VMED, WTNY, ZUMZ)

It is looking pretty thin in analyst calls ahead of the 3-day weekend, but these are some of the top research upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen this Friday morning:

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) cut to Sell from Hold at Citi.
Fred’s Inc. (FRED) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Family Dollar Stores (FDO) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.

Finish Line (FINL) Started as Outperform at Wedbush Morgan.
Sepracor (SEPR) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Virgin Media (VMED) Started as Outperform by Credit Suisse.
Whitney Holding (WTNY) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 4, 2009 – 8:32 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (FNM, FRE, HOV, INWK, JAVA, ORCL, SEPR, SVA, ZUMZ)

These are this Thursday’s top day trader and active trader alert stocks.  We have links through to each with more detailed price/volume analysis over at VSinvestor.com:

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) are bouncing by over 10% this morning now that equities have stopped the drop for now.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is down about 10% … maybe all those ‘great home sales figures’ are either not so great or are not sustainable.

InnerWorkings Inc. (NASDAQ: INWK) is down sharply on an earnings warning.

Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) is down, but not as bad as you might think, on the EU probe of the Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) buyout…. Silly children must be in charge over there.

Sepracor, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEPR) is already at exponential trading volume on the buyout news.

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (AMEX: SVA) is challenging $10.00 again… China approved it for a vaccine against swine flu for the Chinese market.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is up over 10% after negative same store sales were not as bad even at -12.1%… it caught 3 analyst upgrades.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week if you wish to be notified by email when the top day trader alerts hit, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

Posted on: September 3, 2009 – 9:04 am in After-Hours Activity, Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (ACN, APC, AAPL, CUB, IRF, NANO, PER, RAX, ZUMZ)

These are this morning’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls seen from Wall Street analysts early this Thursday morning:

Accenture (ACN) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Apple (AAPL) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Cubic (CUB) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
International Rectifier (IRF) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Nanometrics (NANO) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Perot Systems (PER) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Rackspace (RAX) Started as Buy at ThinkEquity.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.

If you wish to be notified by email when the top analyst calls hit, along with each morning’s top day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more, you can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted on: September 3, 2009 – 8:04 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ATHN, ARUN, FAS, CVLT, DEO, NE, RDC, ZUMZ)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst calls from Wall Street we have seen early this Friday morning:

Athenahealth (ATHN) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Aruba Networks (ARUN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Chico’s FAS (FAS) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
CommVault Systems (CVLT) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Diageo plc (DEO) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Noble Corp. (NE) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Rowan Cos. (RDC) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

JON C. OGG
MAY 22, 2009

Posted on: May 22, 2009 – 6:40 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

24/7 Wall St.-The Channel Checkers: Zimiez (ZUMZ) Sales Still Weak

bear

Over the past week, 24/7 Wall St.-The Channel Checkers surveyed Zumiez (ZUMZ) locations to gauge trends in the surf wear and skate wear clothing market.  We asked the following questions:

1. Has there been an increase in sales as summer approaches?
2. What is the most popular brand for teenagers?
3. Is the most popular brand products in stock or are they sold out?
4. What is the average sales receipt at this location?
5. Do you have an items on clearance? Read More »

Posted on: May 11, 2009 – 10:38 am in Research, Retail,

Top Analyst Downgrades (ARB, DB, ETFC, FPL, HXL, M, SFD, UA, ZUMZ)

These are most of the top early bird pre-market downgrades and negative research calls we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Wednesday morning:

Arbitron (ARB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Deutsche Bank (DB) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
E*TRADE (ETFC) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
FPL Group (FPL) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Hexcel (HXL) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Macy’s (M) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Smithfield Foods (SFD) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
Under Armour (UA) Cut to Sell at Wedbush Morgan.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Cut to Sell at UBS.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 29, 2009 – 6:55 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ABC, BWA, DRYS, FIS, ITW, JPM, MHP, NOK, SOHU, ZUMZ)

There are not so many brokerage calls this morning for it being earnings season, but these are the top 10 analyst calls of upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street we have seen early this Friday morning:

AmerisourceBergen (ABC) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Borg Warner (BWA) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
DryShips (DRYS) Raised to Outperfom at Oppenheimer.
Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) Raised to Outperfom at Oppenheimer.
Illinois Tool (ITW) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Cut to In-Line at Foxx-Pitt.
McGraw-Hill (MHP) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Nokia (NOK) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Sohu.com (SOHU) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted on: April 17, 2009 – 6:48 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Zumiez, Same Store Sales Down Now & Ahead (ZUMZ)

ZumiezZumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) was halted pending news into earnings.  The snowboarding (as well as skateboarding, BMX, and action sports) apparel and outdoor wear retail and apparel company posted $0.09 EPS on $92.3 million in revenues, compared to $0.07 EPS and $92.64 million revenues. 

Read More »

Posted on: August 21, 2008 – 3:15 pm in Apparel, Earnings, Entertainment,

Top Analyst Downgrades (CXR, ETM, ROCK, LUX, MAN, NVLS, VSE, ZUMZ)

These are some of the top DOWNGRADES we are seeing from Wall Street analysts this Thursday morning:
Cox Radio (NYSE: CXR) Cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup.
Entercom (NYSE: ETM) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) Cut To Sell From Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Luxottica (NYSE: LUX) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Manpower (NYSE: MAN) Cut to Neutral at Banc of America.
Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) Started as Sell at Banc of America.
VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE) Cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray.
Zumiez (NYSE: ZUMZ) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Jon C. Ogg
July 10, 2008

Posted on: July 10, 2008 – 7:03 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (COF, CI, CS, GPS, THQI, TIF, UNH, WBD, YHOO, ZUMZ)

These are the top analyst upgrades and downgrades that 247WallSt.com is focusing on in pre-market trading this Tuesday morning:

  • Capital One (NYSE: COF) downgraded to Underperform at FBR.
  • CIGNA (NYSE: CI) raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) downgraded to Neutral at UBS.
  • Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) downgraded to Hold at Citigroup.
  • THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) downgraded to Perform at Oppenheimer.
  • UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Wimm-Bill-Dann (NYSE: WBD) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) downgraded to Perform at Oppenheimer.

Jon C. Ogg
March 25, 2008

Jon Ogg produces the Special Situation Investing Newsletter and can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: March 25, 2008 – 6:21 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Did Zumiez Finally Bottom? (ZUMZ)

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) saw shares rocket in after-hours trading after the company posted earnings.  The apparel and equipment retailer for young adults in extreme sports )snowboarding etc.) posted earnings of $0.42 EPS on $126.6 million in revenues, while First Call estimates were $0.38 and $126.1 million.

It has also predicted that its 2008 profits would see $0.90 to $0.93 EPS, while First Call has estimates at $0.92; it also see a low-single digit same store sales gain.  2007 came in at $0.86 EPS on same store sales gains of 9.2%.

Zumiez didn’t try to hide recent woes as it did address near-term environment as challenging.  But the hope here is that since shares have fallen by more than two-thirds from high to low is that even a maturing Zumiez with less than 10% EPS growth and a low-single d-git same store sales growth represents value here.

At $0.86 EPS for 2007, it now has a trailing P/E ratio of 16.4 based on the close of $14.10.  Its forward P/E ratio at the mid-point of guidance would be 15.4 based on that $14.10 close, but with shares up at $16.40 after the close its forward P/E ratio at the mid-point of guidance would be 17.9.  That isn’t grossly expensive and it isn’t grossly cheap.

The "cheap" aspect is that this one can show incredible outperformance when it does beat, and Wall Street may be giving the company the benefit of the doubt and hoping for very conservative guidance being the case.  The other energizer is the short interest as this had 7.45 million shares in the short interest, which is around 40% of the free float and almost 12-days to cover.

All in all, it’s probably a safe bet that the worst has been seen so long as it doesn’t disappoint ahead.  Just don’t go out on a limb looking for the old growth days and the old performance in the near-term.

Jon C. Ogg
March 13, 2008

Posted on: March 13, 2008 – 6:48 pm in Apparel, Earnings, Entertainment,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AUO, ESRX, FDO, GRMN, PBR, PZE, PPDI, SFLY, TSO, ZUMZ, CAL, DAL, NWA, UAUA, LCC, AMR)

These are not the only key analyst calls coming out of Wall Street analysts today, but these are the key calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on in pre-market hours:

  • AU Optronics (AUO) raised to Outperform at Lehman.
  • Express Scripts (ESRX) downgraded to Market Perform at Wachovia.
  • Family Dollar (FDO) downgraded to Underperform at Bear Stearns.
  • Garmin (GRMN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • Petrobras Brasiliero (PBR) downgrades to Sell from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Petrobras Energia (PZE) downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
  • PPD Inc. (PPDI) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Shutterffly (SFLY) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Tesoro (TSO) downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
  • Zumiez (ZUMZ) raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • UBS RAISED AIRLINES: Continental (CAL), Delta (DAL), Northwest Airlines (NWA), UAL (UAUA), and United (LCC) all raised to Buy from neutral; AMR (AMR) raised to Neutral from Sell.  Incidentally, Bear Stearns also raised Delta (DAL) to an Outperform rating.

Jon C. Ogg
January 9, 2008

Posted on: January 9, 2008 – 8:03 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Stock News (January 7, 2008)

Below is a snapshot of some of the key impact news affecting stocks in pre-market trading this Monday, January 7, 2008:

  • AllianceBernstein (AB) noted as a hidden gem in Barron’s cover story.
  • Answers Corp. (ANSW) announced a collaboration with Nokia for Series 40 and S60 mobile devices.
  • Avocet (AVCT) lowered guidance
  • Biogen-Idec (BIIB) and Elan (ELN) say that the safety data continues to support a favorable benefit-risk profile for TYSABRI.
  • Celgene Corp. (CELG) trading up 5% after guidance is in-line for 2007 and issued new guidance for 2008.
  • CNET (CNET) had a Jana Partners-led investor group take a 21% stake and try to oust the board of directors.
  • Diana Shipping (DSX) trading up almost 2% on positive Barron’s article over weekend.
  • 8X8 Inc. (EGHT) introduced a free international mobile calling plan with its new Packet8 MobileTalk trial.
  • hhgregg (HGG) reaffirmed 2008 EPS guidance of $0.95 to $1.03 vs. $1.00 est.; s-s-s up 3%.
  • JA Solar (JASO) announced a 3 for 1 stock split.
  • Jefferies (JEF) issued earnings warning.
  • Krispy Kreme (KKD) announced it has elected a new CEO.
  • Microsoft (MSFT) said at "CES" it had 100 million licenses sold of Windows Vista; 17.7 million Xbox 360’s, 10 million Xbox live users; will have new content downloads.
  • Napster (NAPS) will sell music with less copyright protection as MP3 files.
  • Nice Systems (NICE) received multi-million dollar orders from 2 of the top-3 US banks for fraud alert.
  • Rogers Communications (RCI) raised annual dividend from $0.50 to $1.00 and put 2008 revenues $11.2 to $11.5 Billion versus $11.25 Billion estimates; announced share buyback.
  • Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) missed earnings and revenue targets; stock trading down 1% so far.
  • Sony (SNE) introduces new tri-recording video Camcorder at "CES".
  • TASER (TASR) unveils its new leopard print TASER C2 personal protection device at the 2008 International Consumer Electronic tradeshow in Las Vegas today.
  • Zumiez (ZUMZ) said December s-s-s was +3.9%, but guided lower; shares down over 1%.

Jon C. Ogg
January 7, 2007

Posted on: January 7, 2008 – 8:32 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When Cold Weather Can’t Even Save Zumiez (ZUMZ)

After perusing the 52-week lows mid-day there was one key standout as the last name on the list: Zumiez (NASDSAQ:ZUMZ). 

Recently this posted a disappointing sales growth of 5.6% on same-store-sales.  Analysts were looking for an 8% gain on average, and this was well under the 12% growth seen in November 2006.  Zumiez isn’t ONLY a winter gear apparel company since it sells apparel and skating equipment and more.  But it is thought of by many as a winter sport equipment and apparel company.  The cold weather isn’t helping as it is hitting new 52-week lows heading into Christmas.  Maybe a recession is even worse for snowboarders than it is for home sales.

The stock performance has now been bad enough that it had two different class action lawsuits filed against it.  With shares down 5.6% at $22.71, its 52-week trading range before today was $23.78 to $53.99.  This was over $50.00 briefly at an all-time high just at the beginning of October.

It isn’t a super expensive stock based upon the easy metrics with consensus estimates at roughly 24-times JAN-2008 EPS targets and around 19-times JAN-2009 EPS targets.  Maybe these estimates are coming way down and the multiple only sounds cheap today but won’t be cheap tomorrow.

One of these two scenarios comes to mind: you have to wonder if this is just gravitating toward a market multiple, or if the company has gone from shinola to merely a mediocre store overnight.  There’s a third possibility too.  Maybe it’s just a grossly oversold stock.

Jon C. Ogg
December 14, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: December 14, 2007 – 2:17 pm in Apparel, HI/LOW,

The 52-Week Low Club

Verifone (PAY) Accounting problems still taking shares down. Falls to $19.57 from 52-week high of $50.

Blockbuster (BBI) Concerns about postal costs. Down to $2.99 from 52-week high of $7.30.

Williams Partners (WPZ) Brings new stock offering to market. Falls to $36.95 from 52-week high of $50.

UTI Worldwide (UTIW) Loses deal with Wal-Mart (WMT). Trades down to $18.40 from 52-week high of $32.

Zumiez (ZUMZ) Poor same-store sales. Falls to $24.95 from 52-week high of $53.99.

Savvis (SVVS) Drops outlook for next quarter. Drops to $27.68 from 52-week high of $53.47

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: December 6, 2007 – 4:31 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , ,

Not All May Retail Stores Were Weak (COST, KSS, JWN, JOSB, SKS, ZUMZ, PSUN, SHRP)

Despite an earnings warnings out of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) earlier this week and despite some perceived softness at Wal-Mart (WMT), there were actually some retail winners that posted strong same-store-sales gains above expectations for the month of May.  Here is a sample of some that beat the mark:

Costco (COST)         +7.0% vs. +5.6% est.
Jos. A. Banks (JOSB)     +13.5% vs. +4% est.
JW Nordstrom (JWN)     +6.3% vs. +2.6% est.
Kohl’s (KSS)         +10.5% vs. +6.3% est.
Pacific Sunwear (PSUN)  +6.4% vs. +1.9% est.
Saks (SKS)         +37.9% vs. +14% est.
Zumiez (ZUMZ)         +11.2% vs. +7.3% est.

Sharper Image (SHRP) did not do well on the surface with same-store-sales coming in at -8%, but when you take into consideration the steady double-digit declines and that the First Call estimate was looking for -13.8% then this isn’t quite so bad.  As we have noted on many occasions, sometimes Wall Street will reward disparaged companies that merely do ‘LESS BAD’ than they have in prior periods.  Shares are down more than 1% on very thin volume and somehow shares have managed to come back up close to 52-week highs, so we won’t be looking for a major run today.

Jon C. Ogg
June 7, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 7, 2007 – 8:43 am in Retail, , , , , , , ,